Faculty, staff invited to third annual adult memorial service

For the third straight year, Michigan Medicine is inviting all faculty and staff to attend the annual adult memorial service at University Hospital. This year’s service will be held on Saturday, May 5, at 1 p.m. in the Towsley Center.

The memorial service remembers Michigan Medicine patients who have passed away during the previous 18 months. Each year, families are invited to attend the memorial to honor their loved ones.

“We know that families appreciate the opportunity to come to this memorial to help bring them closure following the death of a loved one,” said Lisbeth Harcourt, M.S.W., LMSW, program manager for the Office of Decedent Affairs. “Every year when we send out the invitations and start receiving RSVPs, we always hear how much family members appreciate this service, even if they cannot attend. By hosting this service, we are telling them that their loved one has not been forgotten.”

The service also provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to remember those they have lost and also enables them to interact with family members

Faculty, staff and family members can decorate stars in honor of someone they have lost.

“Our memorial really provides an important step in the healing process for family members who have lost someone because it gives them a place to grieve, surrounded by others who understand what they are feeling” said Rev. Lindsay Bona, manager of the Spiritual Care Department. “Losing a patient is never easy and this service offers a way to help staff cope by remembering those they cared for.”

In honor of all the patients being recognized during the service, Michigan Medicine also names a star and provides all attendees with the coordinates to find the star in the sky. This year the star will be named “Saudade 2018.” Saudade is a Portuguese word meaning “the love that remains.”

All Michigan Medicine faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the memorial service. Full event details are included below:

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